


You Are My Future

by MeIIonCoIIie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Eventual Romance, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Keith (Voltron), M/M, Minor Allura/Lance (Voltron), Minor Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Other, Season/Series 08, Slow Burn, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Spoilers, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-21 00:12:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17032584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeIIonCoIIie/pseuds/MeIIonCoIIie
Summary: With all the struggles the Paladins are facing right now, there's no place for feelings or dates or games on a clear day to go through.Lance can't come to terms with himself, doubting and confusion are the only things he can think about, but no matter what happens he will always be there for his team.Keith is in denial with his feelings that he thought he already acknowledge, somehow something triggered those feelings to come out again, and he might need some stability if he wants to survive and end this war once and for all.[A kind of fix-it fic, I'll stick up with the main plot but with some slight changes... Season 8 spoilers of course]





	1. We are alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fic D:
> 
> This first chapter is super short, but the next one won't be, the chapter will alternate from pov's  
> This is Keith's pov and starts at the end of S7  
> I STRUGGLE WITH THE LANGUAGE, see note at the end.  
> :)

It was that iridescent light what he saw first, not even his mom's face, it was that bothersome light. Adjusting his eyes he could finally knew where he was, a big throbbing pain in his head confirmed his doubts.

"Take it easy Keith, or you'll get dizzy"

Indeed, that was what happened when he tried to sit up, but the questions and the dread feeling kept growing.

"What happened? where's everyone? How-" He stopped when the strong hold from his mother interrupted him.

"Everyone's okay, you can calm down" Krolia said in the most soothing way she could voice.

"But-"

"Rest assured Keith, what Krolia said is true, everyone is fine" A deeper voice sounded in the corner of the room.

"Kolivan, you're here" it was more a statement than a question.

"Actually, you were the last to wake up, some of your friends came to visit while you were unconscious, Shiro too" His mother explained.

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days. You had a concussion, that's why I'm telling to get some more rest, or you'll get dizzy" She stated with a firm tone, provoking a warm feeling that he already got used to.

"Wait, who came?" somehow he felt intrigued all of a sudden.

"Shiro came every day, he just left an hour ago. Hunk came as well, and so did Lance."

A relief suddenly came to Keith, to know his friends and fellow paladins were fine.

"Which reminds me, he left this for you" Krolia gave him a folded piece of paper.

It seemed like a card with a weird drawing of himself?

" _Get well soon mullet_... yup this is Lance's, uh.. thanks, but I gotta check on the others too"

"You should rest Keith, I assure you everyone's okay, soon you can go and check for yourself" His mother insisted one last time.

"Fine"

 

 

* * *

 

 

A light knock on the door woke him up, he was alone in the room, and it seemed like late night.

Another knock reminded him that someone was out there.

"Come in"

"Sorry Keith, were you asleep, I hope I didn't woke you"

"It's okay Allura, I'm fine. How are you?" Keith asked calmly

"I'm fine Keith, I just came from visiting Pidge and decided to check on you" A sound of relief came from her soothing voice. "I'm glad you're doing fine, Krolia told us you woke up today, it really is a relief, we were quite preoccupied" She sat down beside the night stand.

Keith just smiled at her, he felt comfortable with her words. A short comfortable silence took place before Allura turned to see a piece of paper.

"Oh, I see you got one of this too" She said while letting out an adorable laugh "Lance is quite the artist don't you think?"

"I guess, for some reason I thought his niece and nephew did that" Keith said raising one eyebrow.

Allura smiled, she was about to ask something when Keith spoke again.

"How's he doing, have you seen him?"

"Oh, he's doing fine. Last time I checked he was surrounded by all his family members, it was a delightful sight honestly"

"That's good to hear" He said with a fond smile

"I was about to check on him, if you're feeling well, would you like to come with me?"

"Oh! I- uh, maybe I'll go later or tomorrow, make a round and check on everybody" He said hesitantly.

"All right then, rest Keith, I'll see you later" She said with a hand on the door.

"See you around Allura"

She closed the door.

 

"Whoa! Allura, what a surprise. Ha!" a loud, cheery voice came from the hall.

_Oh... guess I won't have to go there anymore._

"... Okay, see you later princess" the voice was getting closer.

"Hey man, how you doin', finally you're up dude, you got us worried for a bit there"

"Hey Lance." Keith said with a tiny curve on his lips. "How are you?"

"Better, just glad that everyone's okay. That was a close one" Lance said with a bit of worry in his voice

"Yeah, it really was. Kolivan updated me, no news from the Altean?" Keith asked waiting for some good news.

"Not yet, Sam and the crew still investigating, I think, I can't come to think much of it, still going with the fact the we barely made it" Lance said in a low voice

"Yeah..." He said with an even lower voice.

It was so discouraging to see Lance being all quiet and remorse about something, it reminded him when he found out the time Keith almost sacrifice himself, if it wasn't for Lotor, only that time he was yelled at the beginning but then came the sudden silence and a low and bitter voice, something he didn't know Lance could do, and it made him feel awful.

"Hey, we'll figure it out, we'll get through it..." He tried to cheer him up, in a way it worked, he saw a smile outlining on Lance's lips

Then, silence...

Only a beep and a distant voice from nurses and doctors was heard.

"So... where's Kosmo?" Lance asked in a more lively voice, breaking the silence.

"He's with my mom, he can't be in here much. And stop calling him that?" He stated raising his voice a bit at the end.

"You still on that, seriously man..." Lance said, not finishing what he wanted to say, he started laughing, even more when he saw Keith pouting.

They spent some time talking until Lance let out a yawn

"Well, I think it's pretty late, don't know 'bout you but I'm tired, I'll let you rest. Glad you're okay Keith" He said while going through the door.

"Thanks Lance, I'm glad you're fine too" They smile to each other until Lance slide close the door.

It was past midnight.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so, this is the first chap, as you can see, English is my second language, Spanish being my mother tongue, so any feedback will be welcome, please!!


	2. Anxious

  
It's been months, several months and a little progress with the Altean that was found inside that thing. It was starting to get on his nerves, but as the leader he couldn't' show it, the desperation and uncertainty was eating him from inside, it's been the fifth time he went to the lab to check up on any news, and nothing, everything still the same.

  
"Hey Keith, you're doing okay?" Shiro asked with a firm grip on his shoulder.

  
"How could I? We still don't know anything about the Altean, there has been no progress and there's nothing I can do about it, I can't help, I'm feeling useless, I'm supposed to be the leader, and here I am..." He blurted everything out in a matter of seconds.

  
Talking with Shiro has always been a way to pour his feelings out, not always, but certainly lately has been.

  
"Whoa, hey, easy there. Look, try not to worry so much, I can tell you that I feel the same way, but we won't gain anything feeling stressed, all we're going to do is stress everyone else, so try to calm down a bit." He said with a firm yet calmed tone.

"I know Shiro, but-" He got interrupted.

  
"I'm sure everything will come out eventually, trust me, we got a hard working crew, and they're achieving things little by little, have faith in them"

  
"I do, I really do, it's just- I... I can't help feeling useless" Keith said despondent.

  
"I know buddy. If anything happens I'll let you know immediately, be patient"

  
"Thanks Shiro" He said with a little more faith.

  
"Why won't you go train, I'm sure that could take off your mind a bit"

  
"Yeah, actually that's where I was heading before I stopped here." He said while walking off. "Thanks again, I'll see you later"

 

* * *

 

 

  
"Hey Keith, are you okay? because I think I beat you again?" A cheerful voice pulled him out of his train of thoughts. "Are you tired already? because two wins in a row.."

  
"Maybe you're getting better" Keith said with a mocking tone.

  
"Come on, you're not that good as a teacher" Lance said also mockingly

  
"Huh, let's go again then"

  
The sound of clashing metals resounded in the whole room, it started to feel steamy, but determination was set on the eyes of both paladins, more in a pair of blue eyes.

  
He spin trying to avoid Lance’s sword from his left, another spin and there he was again, sometimes it amazed him how he improved his sword skills, certainly not as amazed when he found out Lance could transform his bayard into a sword, an Altean broadsword, which resembles King Alfor’s sword, in Allura’s words.

  
It was in the middle of battle when he found out, forming the sword was his thing, but now Voltron has the power of a double sword, thanks to Lance, their bayards were capable of that and much more, forming double swords, even forming wings, maybe that’s more on themselves than their bayards, their chemistry certainly improved too, he was afraid it would’ve get lost with his absence, it certainly didn’t, not with Lance as his right-hand man.

  
No matter how distant he seemed at first when he arrived at the castle ship after his two year absence, at how he disregarded Lance’s attempt of greeting, they are a good team, and more importantly he felt they were really friends. And as his friend of course he was willing to help him improved his sword skills.

  
A sudden step make one of them to lose his sword. Defenseless with a black and sharp bayard pointing directly to a nose.

  
"Ugh, I almost had you" Lance let it out with a grunt.

  
"You need to watch your footing, I already told you" Keith said in a teacher way.

  
"Yeah yeah, I know, I'm working on it" He replied with a towel on hand. They walked to a bench to take a sip of water.

  
"You're getting better" Keith said with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

  
"You really think so? I mean, it's been a couple of months since we started training together. I used to train just by myself when you were out with the blades, it feels so different with your lessons, I also think I'm improving, but I don't know when there will be a good chance to use my bayard with this form, you're the expert swordsman here, and I'm a better shooter than a swordsman, I don't want to come up with the wrong choice at the heat of the battle, what if-" He suddenly got interrupted with his own towel collapsing in his face.

  
"Ugh, stop rambling, you'll be fine, you are also a better thinker when it comes to the heat of the battle, and I'm sure you'll know when the time comes when to use your sword. Besides, it's nice to have a fellow sword in battle" He stated as a final statement, trying to ease the boy's insecurities even just a bit.

  
They both smile at each other.

  
"I take back what I said, you really are a good teacher, but don't expect me to said that again soon." Lance said while standing up. “Ready for another round?”

  
"Always"

 

* * *

 

“Aw man, I’m sure I’ll collapse once I get to my room” Lance said while rubbing his shoulder.

  
They were walking down the hallway following the same path leading to their respective rooms.

  
“But I gotta shower first” he said while smelling himself a bit.

  
“Yeah, me too”

  
A sudden yelling was heard at the end of the hallway, and with the yelling a bark?

  
“Come back here!” Two voices expressed the same statement.

  
“Bebe, don’t you dare…”

  
In a matter of seconds he saw Lance on the floor with a dog climbing his chest, said dog was Bebe, the Holt’s pet, who was now putting all its effort to get Lance a nice saliva mask.

  
“Bebe, stop, my face!” He complained “Pidge, get it off me, come on!”

  
“Haha, I might not” she said with mischief. After a couple of seconds she took pitty on him and took Bebe off.

  
“Wow Lance, looks like you won’t need your face mask treatment anymore” Hunk said helping pidge with the slippery dog.

  
Lance only made an annoying grunt as a reply, Keith, with his eyebrows raised, couldn’t help himself and let out a giggle.

  
“What? You think it’s funny?” He asked him with and annoyed face. “Because I can share some of this dog slime if you want”

  
“I’m fine” Keith said taking a step back. “Are those the new uniforms?” He asked, changing the topic.

  
“Yeah, pretty neat don’t you think?” Hunk said modeling his brand new yellow-paladin uniform, which resemble the Garrison’s attire. Keith and Lance nodded watching the bright colors on Pidge and Hunk’s clothes. “You’ll find yours on your bedroom”

  
“You’ve been training?” Pidge asked.

  
“Can’t you tell by the smell Pidge? They stink.” Hunk said mockingly in a good spirited way.

  
“Hey! We were about to take a shower actually” the blue paladin said with defensive tone.

  
“…” everyone, including Keith raised an eyebrow, it was Pidge and Hunk who started giggling.

  
“Oh, you know what I mean” said Lance threateningly.

It wasn’t the first time these two made a joke about him involving Lance in a more intimate way, at first it felt uncomfortable and depending on the level of the joke he sometimes felt heat on his face, and certainly Lance, as he saw him a couple of times blushing at the snide comments of the duo, he thought Lance will be mad for making such remarks, but at rare times he even take part in said jokes, playing along, Keith guess it was part of their improving friendship, making embarrassing jokes involving intimacy, that’s what most friends do, right?

  
Changing the topic was Keith’s best way to avoid any further embarrassment.  
“Any news on the Altean?”

  
“We just came from the lab, and nothing seemed different, Allura, Romelle, and Coran were there too” Pidge answered Keith’s question while taking a good grip on Bebe’s collar.

  
“How are they holding up? How’s Allura?” Lance asked with determination.

  
“Well you know, restless as everybody else” Hunk said now taking care of Bebe.

  
“Figured. I’ll pay a visit to the lab and see if there’s something I can do” Lance stated walking through the hallway towards his room.

  
“You might want to take the shower first though, lover boy ” Hunk said with a toothy smile.  
Lance just gave him a glare and remain his walk.

  
“I might go and do the same, see for myself” Keith said from behind.

  
“Don’t be too long in the shower” Now was Pidge with the mischievous look.

  
He did the other best thing to do with those kind of comments, grunt, and then ignored them.

  
Ignoring them works well, it’s his face that wasn’t working, somehow it manage to get red every time they said anything of the kind.

 

 

 

 

 


	3. Launch Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the rewriting of Ep01 It’s in Lance’s pov

 

"Launching tomorrow. The big day. It seems like it was forever ago when we piled into the Blue Lion and blasted out into space." Hunk said with an air of reminiscence. "Man, we had no idea what were getting into!"

"Yeah" Lance said in a low-spirited way while stirring his coffee.

"But now it's different. We've seen it all." Hunk tried once again to cheer him up. "We're rugged veterans now, going back into battle one last time."

"Mm, yup." He said disheartened.

"Guess that makes us heroes or something?" Hunk said in a cocky but funny way. "Like the type of heroes that would have their own TV show!" He laughed.

Oh, that TV show.

"Did you watch it, Lance! Ah, it's so cool! It's so cool." Hunk said with excitement.

"They got you spot-on" He continued.

_Did they?_

"But Coran is like, he's all super serious and stuff"  He changed his tone a bit. "And Allura is a little... I don't know, she's different."

"Keith is friendly!" Hunk laughed at the idea. "He's happy all the time."

_Well, he seems kinda happier now, more chill and stuff, considering the situation._

It's not as if Keith is now all sunshine and flowers, but definitely for a person who's been considered as Mr. Lone wolf, aloof and an emo teenager, there's been a noticeable change in the former red paladin's behavior, like he is more sure of his place, more mature, and certainly Lance had noticed it, one thing is pretending he hasn't.

"I mean, they got it so wrong." Hunk continued.

Lance kept stirring his cup of coffee unconsciously, just listening to Hunk and thinking.

"Plus, they're hinting at some romance between him and Allura." Hunk said

_Huh?!_

That was Lance's cue to lose his composure.

"What?!" He yelled, standing up suddenly and almost hitting his cup off the table in an outburst. "Keith and Allura?"

_Are you freaking kidding me? who would watch a show like that, they don't even have chemistry to be a romantic couple on that show._

"No! it should be Lance and Allura!" He said letting out some steam.

Lance is aware this is just a dumb show, it means nothing, they got it wrong, he should feel ashamed and immature to be mad at Keith for something he's not even doing, he doesn't like Allura that way.

_Does he?_

No, he doesn't, he hasn't shown any signs of it, and he knows how Lance feels about Allura, that'd be betrayal, they were good friends now, so he wouldn't.

It's stupid, feeling  jealous for a bad characterization in a stupid kids TV show. Lance is better than that.

"Ooh, a love triangle. I like where you're taking this." Hunk said, not really helping with what's troubling Lance at the moment.

"No, no. It's not about that." Lance said, now calmly but gloomy.

"Wait, that's right" Hunk spoke again. "You said you were gonna ask Allura on a date."

A date.

"You asked her, didn't you?" Hunk asked. "Oh, and she said no"

"Here I am, rubbing your face in it." Hunk said while looking at Lance who has an annoyed face.

"She didn't say no. I..." He stopped. "Well, I never asked her"

"You chickened out?" Hunk asked with a surprised tone.

"I was going to ask her" He said. "But she's been spending, like, every day in the med bay. It's just... I don't' know, with all that's been happening right now, I don't know if it's the right moment." He stopped to think of something else.

"What if, you know, the whole thing with Lotor, I don't know how Allura still feels about it, I swear Hunk, I've never seen her liked that." Lance finally said with a sad tone and face.

"I get it, but, after tomorrow, we're back in space fighting the Galra" Hunk said a little bit discouraged. "I get what you're saying about the whole Lotor fiasco, I really do, she went through a rough time with it, and she's moving on, I can see that, this might be your only chance. I said, risk it, you've got nothing to lose, and whatever happens, I got you buddy." He ended that sentence with an encouraging smile. Putting an end to the conversation and hopefully to Lance's doubts.

 

 

* * *

 

 

"Everyone, welcome to our final briefing here on Earth." Said Shiro standing up and drawing attention "It's been several months since we began the rebuild, and tomorrow we launch and continue our liberation efforts across all planets still under Galra rule." While Shiro explain, Lance kept stealing glances to Allura, he was trying really hard to focus on the briefing, but the anxiousness of asking Allura out on a date was still lingering.

"Any updates on the Altean pilot?" Shiro asked

"Still unresponsive" replied Allura "But she could wake any day now. Perhaps if we had a little more time, we could find out who sent her."

"There's no way to know when or if she'll regain consciousness." Keith said directly to her. "We can't wait any longer. We need to get back out there and end this war before the Galra can reorganize"

"Keith's right" Said Shiro "We'll be in constant communication with Earth. When the Altean wakes up, we'll know."

"I have one more item to discuss. It's our last night on Earth, and we've got a lot of hard work ahead of us. We may not be back home for years." He said with a soft voice. "So I'm ordering you, to take some time for yourselves. Be with the ones you love. You've earned it."

_Be with the ones you love._

 

* * *

 

 

Lance found himself wandering in a full hallway, searching for the princess, until he spot her walking with Romelle

"Hey, uh- Allura?" He said hesitantly.

Both Altean women turned around. "What is it, Lance?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just, uh, checking in." He said in a sheepish way. "So, how are things?"

"I'm sorry, but I really need to be getting back" The princess answered him with a worried look on her face

"Oh, right, yeah. Okay" Stammering, he continued. "Um, well, I don't want to keep you, so..."

Both the princess and Romelle continue their path, and Lance backed away crestfallen, only to stumble with Hunk. Who with his actions, encouraged him to try to complete his mission.

"Oh- Uh, actually, I was wondering if-" He said nervously. "Maybe, if you want to, you could have dinner with me tonight?" He said stammering a little. "And my family. Dinner with me and my family? I- I just thought you could join us"

"That sounds wonderful, but I can't" Said the princess.

"Allura, I know you're worried about Luca, but we're worried about you." Said Romelle, placing an encouraging hand on her shoulder. "It'll be good to get away for a night and clear your head."

"Right, yeah, all that stuff she's saying. Totally" Lance said meddling in their conversation.

"Perhaps dinner would be nice." Said Allura with a worried look "I'd love to."

"Really? Awesome! Dinner tonight. Us. Yes." Said Lance almost yelling with excitement.

"Okay, Loverboy Lance. Now walk away before she changes her mind." Said Hunk leaning on Lance.

 

* * *

 

_Perhaps this was a mistake_

He suddenly felt a stingy feeling about the whole date, what if he's pressuring Allura too much? maybe he was rushing into things with her and he'll ended up screwing his only chances with her, and all the Altean courting stuff Coran told him about, that's was a lot to remember, he suddenly felt overwhelmed, he already talked to Hunk and that's where it lead him to.

He needed another opinion, he was thinking of going to Shiro, but he didn't want to bother him right now, he seemed very busy after the briefing.

_Even though he said to take some time for ourselves._

He found himself climbing the Black Lion with all the junk Coran put him on.

"Man, you can be a real hard guy to find when you wanna be." Lance said grunting.

"Hey Lance." Keith said calmly looking at him. "Whoa!" He exclaimed once he heard metal clattering and watching the sight in front of him.

There was Lance dressing as some kind of knight with loads of junk as an armor.

"What are you wearing?"

Lance sighed and blushed at the question. "Coran made it for me for my date with Allura"

He took a place besides Keith, sitting down carefully. Keith waits for Lance to settle down to talk again.

"A date with Allura?" Keith said with a smile. "Wow! well done, Lance"

"Thanks, but it could be our last." Lance said, taking the bucket off his head. "There's a bunch of stuff going on, I mean, first of all, there's the whole situation with the Altean pilot, and I know Shiro said to enjoy ourselves today, Allura's been stressing herself out, I still don't even know if she likes me the same way I like her, and I can't keep all these Altean customs straight. It's just- it's kinda overwhelming, you know, what if it's not the right time to be thinking of this, Hunk alrerady told me, I know there won't be another chance, who knows what'll happen after this and... ugh-" Lance said with a discouraged face.

Keith let him rambled on until he let it all out. Taking one of the cooking pots that was being used as “armor” and putting it aside, he placed his hand on his shoulder as a way of support.

"Listen, if she's going out with you, it's because she likes you, I can’t tell you for sure if it's in the same way as you do, but she surely likes you and respects you." Keith continued. "The annoying, stupid, Earth version of you." He said smiling. Lance laughed at the statement

"You watching the sun set?" He asked after a while.

"Yeah, might be a while before we get to see it again." Keith explained.

"Man, I'm really gonna miss this place" Said Lance contemplating the sight in front of them.

"That's why we've gotta end this war." Keith started in a very leaderish but friendly way. "And we're gonna do it with the Lance that's the Paladin of the Red Lion. The Lance that's always got my back."  He closed his eyes and continued with now a low and sweet voice, while smiling "And the Lance who knows exactly who he is and what he's got to offer."

He ended his speech by looking him directly to his eyes, a very fond look on them.

_He really have changed_

Lance was looking at him startled for a couple of seconds. It wasn't the first time Keith gave a motivational speech, actually he's been doing that recently since he took his place as leader again after he came from the quantum abyss. He gotta get used to this new Keith apparently.

Even though he rather a Keith who's very easy to tease, and a Keith he can sometimes argue with in a good spirit way, talking to him lift his confidence, he knows his words are very important to him.

Lance smiled fondly at him, and so did Keith, they both stayed watching the sun set with Kosmo on the Black Lion.

_Take some time for yourselves._

_Be with the ones you love._

 

 


	4. Launch Date pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second part of ep01, but with some changes.  
> This starts with Keith’s POV but changes to Lance’s eventually.

“Well, I thinks that’s my cue to leave, gotta get ready” Lance said standing up while stretching, he picked up the rest of his “armor” while letting out a big sigh.

“I’m sure everything will be fine, just be yourself, Lance” Keith said encouraging his friend. “But not too much, uh, you know”

“Ha ha.... funny” said Lance while walking away.

“Hey Keith” he stopped. “Thanks”

“Any time” the smile on both of their faces lingers for a moment.

Lance started descending the Black Lion, Keith could still hear the metal clattering and in a distance Lance’s complaints about his armor.

Being the leader means to be aware of everything and everyone that’s related to the team, and recently he’s been noticing subtle changes in Lance.

He never missed a training session before, and those times when they got a chance to trained, he couldn’t help but noticed the red paladin being distracted. He tried to talk with him but with the mission coming on, Keith found that task being rather difficult, he needed to set up his priorities, the mission was first, but that doesn’t mean he could ignore the state of one of his teammates, specially his right-hand man.

Keith found himself smiling fondly while watching the horizon.

  
_A date, huh? so, this is it? Good for him._

  
The smile faded slowly, turning upside down.

  
_He deserved it. He’ll be happy now._

  
He kept watching the sun setting, now getting darker, he lowered his head, resting his chin in his arm that was comfortably resting on his knee, Kosmo approached him rubbing his head on his arm as a show of comfort. Keith lift his head and gave kosmo a few scratches, acknowledging his efforts.

  
“It’s okay buddy, as long as he’s happy… I’m fine with it.”

  
“I saw this coming, I knew this would happen eventually, and I’ll be there when he needs it”

His two years absence taught him a few things, no matter his past he was now sure what his place is, he knows better who he is, and despite everything there will be people waiting for him, a place where he belongs with people who accepted him at any cost, he’s aware of the deep bond he created with each of the paladins, ones more deeper than others but equally meaningful.  
And with that feeling came new ones, or better said, acknowledgement of a feeling that’s been there since a while now, a feeling of belonging, and mutual respect, of understanding and comfort, a feeling that runs deeper than any other, it was a bond he formed with a certain person that was, in some point, mistaken as a burden at first, but now is one of his motivations to keep going, a desire to protect what’s more treasured to him, a desire to protect that person and make sure that his smile never flakes.

“I shouldn’t feel this way, not anymore” Keith said to himself, or maybe his wolf, whom cuddle to him, sensing distress on his master.  
“I should be happy for him, right?”

 

* * *

  
“Come in my dear, oh you look wonderful” his mom said in the instant she opened the door. “Doesn’t she look wonderful, Lance?”

_Wow…_

“You look amazing” Lance tried to responded in the most subtle way. He was amazed by her beauty.

  
“Thank you, you look nice, too”

“Well, it’s not Altean vestments but…”

“Imagine you in a forlongian brill hat” Allura couldn’t stopped her giggling.

They both started laughing, with Lance’s mom in the middle just watching the interaction, even though she couldn’t understand anything at all, she kept looking at her son with a bright smile.

“Oh, Allura, let me introduce you to my family.” Said Lance eagerly. “This is my mom and pop-pop. You know Veronica” he said while making a hand gesture to each member of his family. “That’s Rachel, my brother Marco. Other brother Luis, his wife Lisa, and their kids, Silvio and Nadia.”

It was a great evening, he was enjoying diner with his whole family and Allura.

Allura, the woman he liked since a while, here, with him, and his family, on a date. Lance couldn’t  processed that he finally got the guts to ask her out on a date, and to her to accept. He felt happy but at the same time anxious. Maybe if he could pay attention to whatever embarrassing story his brother was telling about him, but he felt a nagging sensation deep inside, as if something was off, or missing.  
  
_Be with the ones you love._

“… speaking of dates,, maybe you can put in a good word for me with that long haired friend of yours.” Said Veronica out of nowhere.

“What? Keith?! No no no no no” He laughed in a defensive way “No way. No. Never. Not in a million decaphebs okay?” He started rambling.

“All that guy likes are knives and space wolves!” He continued getting a little bit flustered and loud. “So… wh-who even likes those things?! AND he’s got a mullet- mullets are terrible, come on! It’s no… just no. NO.” He ended the sentence pouting and with his arms crossed. Why was he getting all worked up for that suggestion anyway?

_Keith and Veronica!? Pfft, yeah right, like that could happen? Not in a million years._

“I’m just kidding” his sister said to him with a mocking expression. “Good to know how you’ll react though, just in case.”

Lance only could let out a grunt before her sister raised a glass.  
“A toast… to family. Though we may be apart after tomorrow.” She continued with a fond smile “we’ll always remain close at heart. Family is forever” she concluded

“To family!” Everyone on the table cheered, except for one person.

 

 

* * *

 

 

  
“This place, used to be so beautiful” Lance said while they were walking to a nearby park, or what used to be one.

“It’s all my fault the Galra did this to your home”

“No it’s not your fault” he said looking at the princess with a worry look “besides, meeting you is the best thing that ever happened to me”

She went on a few steps forward, reaching the remains of an old tree. A warm sensation ran through every part of the area, bringing back the life that was taken back by the last battles. New flowers and colors exploded in an instant.

“When we were out there, fighting against the Galra, I somehow felt like…” she said crestfallen “like we were a family, each of us was alone, but we were alone together” she kept going with a sorrowful voice. “But now, here on earth… I see that everyone already has a family, and a home to return to once the war is over.” She half-turned around but not meeting Lance’s eyes.

  
“Everyone except me. For the first time, I feel uncertain about what my future holds” the sadness was evident in her words, it pained Lance to see her like that.

“Allura, you are not alone” he said firmly. “And if I have anything to say about it, you’ll never be alone.”

“Lance-”

“I-I don’t care if this is our first date. I…”

_This is it._

“Allura, I love you”

“Lance…”

“I have for a long time. I wanna be your family” “earth can be your home, or anyway you wanna go. It doesn’t matter”

“Lance… I-” Allura said approaching him.

“I would follow you across the universe”

She suddenly stopped, startled to hear those words coming so strong and with determination from Lance, she was aware of his feelings towards her, a conflict suddenly rised in her, the thought that she can secure a future with someone, the fear of being alone was present at the moment.

She fully turned around to face him. Tears coming inadvertently from her eyes.

“Allura, I- sorry, I didn’t mean to- I just…” Lance started to panic, thoughts of running and screaming emerging in his head. Out of nowhere he felt a warm feeling in his hand.

“You truly are one of a kind, Lance” said the princess while holding his hand. “You deserve the best the universe can give. I want to give you that. I wish I could give you that right now”

It was hard to hear those words, those feelings pouring from her lips, she hadn’t even done talking, but his heart was aching. He reached for her face to wipe a tear.

“You are to precious to me, Lance, I can’t bring myself to do that to you, when there’s still confusion and pain that I still must let out. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

“I understand” he said, almost inaudible.

“I can’t know the outcome of the battle we are about to face, but when all this is over, I know there is going to be a time to clear my thoughts”

Her hand went up to caress his cheeks, she approached him slowly a planted a kiss on his right cheek.

That sensation lasted more than Lance could ever wanted to. His eyes started to burn, it was so hard to hold the tears. They hugged for what seems like hours.

A faint smile started to appear on his lips as well.

“Thank you Allura, for being honest with me, and for having a date with me, it really meant a lot” he said with a last squeeze before letting her go.

“No, Lance, thank you, truly, I enjoyed every second of it, I was really stressing out with everything that’s going on and about Lot- about Luca and other stuff” she said covering that slip. “I hope we can, someday, repeat this, if it’s possible”

“Oh, absolutely, I’ll take you to this amazing place me and my family always go for a trip” he said with a bit of enthusiasm, trying to cover his sadness for a moment.

“I’m sure it’ll be splendid” she giggled. “I really had a lot of fun tonight, your family is most adorable, the way you interact with your siblings” she started laughing.

“Yeah, maybe next time I won’t invited them” He said while they began walking around the park.

“Oh, by the way, Lance, I was wondering, why were you so against the idea o Veronica having a date with Keith” she stopped to hear the answer.

_Ugh. This again?_

“Why would I do that, setting them up? It just, weird, I mean, it’s Keith!” He started to raise his voice.  
“And your sister” Allura added.

“And my sister!”

“Yeah you’re right. I don’t think she’ll be Keith’s type of person to date” she said with a funny smile on her face.

“Thank you!”

“I think, that boy from the garrison, one of the MFE pilots with brown hair, that could be Keith’s type, don’t you think?” she said as in wondering and waiting for Lance’s thoughts on the matter.

_What?!_

“Griffin?! you mean James Griffin?” He said with a squeaky voice.  
“Yes, Thank you, I couldn’t remember his name. And yes, don’t you think they give away a peculiar wave of energy?”

A few seconds passed before Lance could process what he’d heard.

“What are you even talking about, Allura?! Ar- are you- I mean, what!? Keith and James?! How can you even process that? They hate each other!” He’s pitchy voice was reaching decibels that almost hurt Altean ears. “That dude has been onto Keith’s wrong side since I can remember, and Keith?! Come on, he’s way out of his league, he’s better than that! And also-” he abruptly stopped his speech.

“What are you laughing at?” He tried to lower his voice to his normal range.

“Nothing, just… you are all flustered and your cheeks seems to be burning, it’s a little bit amusing” she said squinting her eyes, trying contain her laughter.

Lance remain silent until the princess ceased her giggles. He needed to calm down, it was embarrassing to get exalted about topics like those. Why would he care whom his sister would date, or who’s Keith’s type, it’s stupid.

Allura stopped laughing at one point and looked at Lance who seemed more calmed down. They heard a buzz sound coming from the bushes. A beeping sound give away the identity.

With squealing noises, beezer approached them.

“I think he wants us to smile” Lance said, putting an arm on the princess’s shoulder, while she wrapped her own on Lance’s waist.

 

* * *

 

It was a new day, the day when they have to say goodbye once again to their families and friends, and all the people that count on them to save their home.

“In the blink of an eye, the world as we knew it became much larger than we’d ever thought possible” Keith said with confidence, speaking to everyone “and now we rise up to join the fight alongside so many others different from us, but of like minds, to stand firm in the face of tyranny”

The princess followed. “For all deserve to decide their own future, as we have decided to spend ours ensuring the freedom of the universe.”

“Each And Everyone of You has given something to this fight, many have been lost, but not in vain, because through their sacrifice, many more will live on. I make you this promise now. We will return triumphant.” Shiro concluded with his speech.

One last glance to their families and all the people that hold hope for them, to their planet, their home. All paladins and crew, ascended to their lions and ship, all with the same vision. To put an end to this war.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that’s it, hope you liked it, if not, comment or feedbackme pls. :)


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